Hunting Around a Fresh Burn

[lif]

I'm starting a pretty good mule deer hunt in the 2nd week of October. In my area there is a 50000 acre fire currently burning. What would be the does and donts of this situation considering the burn will no older than 2 months?

 

[idahohikker]

Oftentimes the burn area starts sprouting some nice green shoots if there's been rain since the fire. Year two should be money in the bank.

 

[Tag_Soup]

Hunt the edges. Look for early green up areas, try to be around those in the mornings and evenings. I find that areas that left some patches of standing timber around edges or cold zones often hold the highest number of animals.

I had a really nice buck found in southern Idaho several years ago. The kind you don't quit hunting until you succeed or the season ends. Early august the area he lived in went up in smoke in a similar size burn as the one you have. The fire started near the bucks location from lightning. It burned until about August 19th if I recall correctly. Ten days before season...

I spent the season trying to figure out where those deer went. I hunted way down and up the drainage but never turned up a buck worth hanging my tag on. A few days after season (3rd of October) I decided to drive out into the burn. To my amazement I found my target buck living right where he had been before the burn, now with very little cover and almost no visible feed. His legs and antlers were nearly black. I believe he had gone straight back to his bedroom within two weeks based on the amount of tracks in the burn. Had I went in a few days earlier, I may have had a shot at that stud...

Moral of the story, if you have bucks pre-scouted and the fire is out, check up on their previous location and see if they came back


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[rayporter]

a couple years ago there was a burn that was only out a few weeks before season and the road hunters had meat hanging everywhere.

 

[lif]

Thanks rag soup. That was my biggest question, whether or not they come back soon or relocate permanently. I have a pretty good non typical located about a mile from the current burn line. It's still burning and I'm hoping to to hook up with that buck come October.

 

[Tag_Soup]

It probably depends on how hot it burns, but I would certainly check. If they are back, shouldn't be hard to tell


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[sneaky]

50000 acre burn narrows down to where you are in the world lol. Good luck with that buck, we'll be waiting on pics

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[lif]

Heading up there Friday for one last scouting trip. Hoping to relocate

 

[alecvg]

I guided in an area that had recently burned, in fact, it still had some random flair ups throughout the couple weeks I guided in there before it snowed. Like others said, hunt the edges, we were still finding bucks right in the fresh burn along the edges. Good luck!